Energy campaign, season 5

It’s hard to believe that we have been doing an energy campaign in the dorms for five years now. But yesterday does mark the start of our fifth campaign. We’ve been improving gradually over the years. At first the dorms saw an average of a 4 to 5 percent decrease, now they are averaging in the double digits. And that has paid off in the form of new recreation tables, games, bikes and recycling bins for the students to enjoy.

We brought the campaign to the academic buildings two years ago. We’ve seen decreases from our baseline of 6 and 8% over the last two years but are still short of our 10% goal. This year we’ve added some extra incentives to try and increase these numbers. A bagel breakfast will be awarded to the building that achieves the largest percentage decline from their baseline and occupants in top performing buildings will receive beverage coupons.

In addition, we’ve hired a team of student workers who will go around and do energy checks at night in the academic buildings. They will be going around turning off lights in the classroom and handing out energy conservation reminders.